Abstract
This paper reports the results of a field study of housewives not employed full time, regarding the motivation for their regional-social activities as well as their activities as members of resident organizations or groups in their residential area. We examined new trends in their social relationships as they move toward independence and cooperation in their daily lives. In comparison with wives employed full time, the housewives were less conscious of independence based on subjective factors, and they more often sought self-contentment in their relationships with others in their residential area. They also had little awareness of any need for them to cooperate in the development and/or reformation of their regional-social environment as residents. These findings indicate the importance of finding ways to improve housewives' internal subjective consciousness of independence, as well as their awareness of mutual interests and relationships' with others.
